Kiplinger’s hits and misses of 2012

The staff at Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine sat down and looked at some of the highs and lows of 2012, replacing the magazine’s traditional end-of-year best-of list. Here’s a smattering of the consumer-oriented hits and misses of 2012, as well as some insights from Janet Bodnar, editor of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance.

HIT: The Toyota Prius (pictured, top). Vincentric, an automotive-data firm, pegs the Prius’s five-year cost at $34,480, according to Kiplinger’s, making it a better bet than other hybrids.

MISS: The Chevrolet Volt (pictured, bottom). GM’s much ballyhooed electric vehicle has a high sticker price ($39,995) and costly maintenance and repairs, Kiplinger’s warned.
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American Express

Prepaid credit and charge cards

HIT:Bluebird (pictured), a joint venture recently launched by Wal-Mart and American Express, provides almost everything for free: no activation or monthly maintenance fee, online bill pay, and mobile check depositing with an app. Prepaid cards “usually come with a lot of fees attached,” Bodnar noted.

MISS: The Magic card, bearing the name of basketball legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson, charges a $4.95 activation fee and a $4.95 monthly maintenance fee. “That’s a lot to pay,” Bodnar said.
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Reuters

Frequent flier programs

HIT:American AAdvantage. There are plenty of ways to earn miles through partner airlines, credit cards, and retailer relationships, Kiplinger’s noted. And it’s only 15,000 miles to upgrade from economy to first class.

MISS:Delta SkyMiles. Points used for an award flight are gone if you switch or cancel your reservation within 72 hours of takeoff, Kiplinger’s said.
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Reuters

Tablets for kids

HIT: Kids 5 and older would be well-served by the latest version of the Kindle Fire (pictured), Kiplinger’s said. Also, the $199 Fire HD version includes FreeTime, which allows parents to set time limits for reading or playing games.

MISS: Pass on tablets aimed at children younger than 10, Kiplinger’s advised, as few apps and books are available.
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Associated Press/File 2011

Daily-deal websites

HIT:Scoutmob has burst onto the scene and has improved upon the daily-deal formula, Kiplinger noted. And you don’t have to buy a deal ahead of time, either, meaning you won’t have five forgotten deal coupons you must spend in three days.

MISS:Groupon. It’s not that Groupon is bad, Bodnar said. “Other companies have moved into the space and done Groupon one better,” Bodnar said.
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Jay Connor for The Boston Globe

Sports ticket resale websites

HIT: The ticket resale market has become crowded in recent years, but Kiplinger’s goes with an old standby: StubHub. The company was founded in 2000 and purchased by eBay in 2007.

MISS: Buying early at the box office never ends well, Kiplinger’s said, although Patriots and (until recently) Red Sox fans may want to avoid this advice. Kiplinger’s cited figures from SeatGeek.com, which say you’ll pay 50 percent more for tickets if you buy them 90 days in advance vs. 24 hours in advance.

Pictured: A ticket buyer and seller negotiate outside Fenway Park prior to a May 12 Red Sox game.
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Virgin Mobile/Associated Press

On-the-go Internet plans

HIT:Virgin Mobile accesses Sprint’s data network and gives you data access without a contract, Kiplinger’s said. Virgin’s Broadband2Go plan charges $35 a month for 2 gigabites of 3G data, or $55 for 5 gigs. The best part: if you’re in Sprint’s 4G service area (still limited in the Boston area, unfortunately), you get unlimited 4G.

MISS: Toast.net simply charges more for a similar product that also runs on Sprint’s network, Kiplinger’s said: $40 for 2 gigs of data per month or $60 for 4 gigs — without any chance for 4G service.
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Associated Press/File 2004

Tax-friendly states for retirees

HIT: Alaska. It’s purely based on the numbers, Bodnar said. The state’s strong economic position allows it to cut some tax rates: one example is homeowners 65 and older getting a break in property taxes.

MISS: Connecticut isn’t extending the welcome mat for retirees, Kiplinger’s said. Social Security benefits are only excluded from state income taxes if your adjusted gross income is less than $50,000 (for couples, it’s $60,000). That’s in addition to the state’s high property taxes, and full taxes on out-of-state government and civil service pensions.

Pictured: A welcome-to-Connecticut on Interstate 91 south at the Massachusetts border.

Reuters/File 2012

Earning potential by major

HIT: Major in engineering, Kiplinger’s advised. In a recent Payscale.com survey, six of the top 10 majors for salary potential were in engineering. Petroleum engineering majors earn a median starting salary of $98,000, Payscale.com said.

MISS: Child and family studies. This was listed last on Payscale.com’s list of 130 majors for salary potential, according to Kiplinger’s. The median salary for college graduates: $29,300, Payscale said.
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Ally Bank

Online banking

HIT:Ally Bank. Kiplinger’s said a checking account there can pay as much as 0.75 percent in interest (good luck finding that anywhere else on a long-standing basis), and savings and money market accounts offer 0.95 percent interest. And Ally refunds ATM fees.

MISS:Ascencia doesn’t offer rates that are competitive with other online banks, Kiplinger’s said, and it’s $29 overdraft fee approaches that of brick-and-mortar financial institutions.
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Bloomberg/File 2007

Places to stash cash

HIT: You wouldn’t think of Sallie Mae (whose headquarters are pictured at left) as the place to give money—Sallie Mae usually taketh away. But the student loan organization’s bank has a money market account that pays 1.05 percent interest, and it doesn’t have a minimum-balance requirement or monthly maintenance fee. “It’s a good number for cash, [but] not a long-term investment,” Bodnar said.

MISS: Bodnar said you might as well be giving money back with Fidelity Tax-Free Money Market account. It recently yielded 0.01 percent, Kiplinger’s said, even low by money market account standards.
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Bloomberg/File 2009

Changes in home prices

HIT: If you live in the Phoenix area, you’re in luck: home prices went up 23.9 percent in the year ending July 31, according to Clear Capital. That will help regain some of the value for homeowners, who experienced a 53.1 percent decline from 2006.

MISS: Memphis saw a 12 percent drop in home prices in the year ending July 31, Kiplinger’s said, citing Clear Capital data. Part of that may be the slow recovery of the local economy, which the Bureau of Labor Statistics says still has an unemployment rate (8.6 percent) above the 7.9 percent national average.

Appliances

HIT: Replacing an older electric heater with an Energy Star-qualified heat-pump water heater ($1,000 to $1,600 for a 50-gallon model) will save the average family $290 a year, Kiplinger’s said. That means you’ll get your investment back very quickly.

MISS: Replacing a refrigerator built from 2001 onward won’t save a lot of cash, Kiplinger’s said, but getting rid of your ’80s-era model could save $100 or more each year.
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